Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

EVENTS

Worldnutdaily Throws Fit Over ‘Blasphemous’ SNL Sketch

I can’t even remember the last time I watched Saturday Night Live, but I guess they had a sketch this past weekend making fun of Quentin Tarantino’s most recent movie and simultaneously of the right wing’s Ted Nugent-like portrayal of Jesus. The Worldnutdaily clutches its pearls.

The parody then re-enacts a number of Tarantino’s scenes, only with “Jesus,” “St. Peter” and other biblical characters shooting, beating and slicing their victims, all while sprays of blood splatter the screen.

To which the “Jesus” character responds, “When you get to heaven, say ‘hi’ to my dad,” before blowing a melon-sized hole in the man’s torso.

Tarantino has a reputation for creating blood-splattered and violent films, including “Pulp Fiction,” the “Kill Bill” series, “Inglorious Basterds” and the most recent “Django Unchained,” each of which was spoofed in the parody movie trailer titled “Djesus Uncrossed.”…

WND movie critic Drew Zahn, however, found it something less than “impeccable.”

“I’m reminded of the line from Steve Martin’s ‘Cheaper by the Dozen,’ when he declared his children’s pranks to be ‘wrong – funny, but wrong,’” Zahn said. “Yes, the parody is well made, and yes, Tarantino is ripe for a spoof just like this. Shoot, I can even see the humor in it. But its subject matter can only be described with one word: blasphemous.

“If anything in our PC culture should be considered obviously offensive, this is it,” Zahn continued. “Can you imagine the uproar that would occur if SNL made a parody, ‘Muhammad Unleashed?’ People at NBC would be losing their jobs. The ‘sensitivity police’ would be out in full force. It would cause international outcry.

“I just have to believe that if God gifted these actors and writers with such a gift for humor and wit,” Zahn concluded, “that He intended it for nobler purposes than mocking His Son.”

I’ve noticed that a lot Christian wingnuts seem to envy the Muslim fanatics who bomb and kill over such “insults” to their religion, or at least envy the fact that such violence often prevents people from daring to blaspheme their gods. “You’d never say this about Muhammad” is a juvenile and idiotic response. So is giving two shits about blasphemy.

I’ve noticed that a lot Christian wingnuts seem to envy the Muslim fanatics who bomb and kill over such “insults” to their religion, or at least envy the fact that such violence often prevents people from daring to blaspheme their gods.

Actually, the Christian Right blasphemes Allah all the time by calling him a false god and the Islamists return the favor by denying the divinity of Jesus. Both sides seem to reserve their greatest outrage for attempts at humor … probably because they instictively know that humor is the greatest weapon against dogma.

Can you imagine the uproar that would occur if SNL made a parody, ‘Muhammad Unleashed?

I hear this s*** reasoning from my kids all the time when I bust their chops for something they’ve screwed the pooch on. “But does this WAY more than me! How come you never punish HIM?”
So WND, or at least Drew Zahn, apparently has the maturity of a 14-year-old. Which is an unintended insult to 14-year-olds everywhere.

Sigh. I watched the episode in question and this parody was one of the highlights. It wasn’t making fun of the Jesus character, it was using a famously “peaceful” (though in my opinion, inaccurately so) character to parody revenge films and the work of Tarantino. But of course anything other than falling prostrate and praising their myth is seen as blasphemy, so there is no winning.

“If anything in our PC culture should be considered obviously offensive, this is it…”

I find it funny (and frustrating) that if we’re offended, explain why we’re offended, why spreading such message has a lasting negative effect on common decency, why it confuses or distracts from their intended point, and thoughtfully suggest pragmatic changes to prevent unnecessary strife and confusion likely to result from a poorly crafted message, people like this complain that we’re being oppressive PC Police trying to silence them.

But if they get the slightest bit uncomfortable (or worse, feel guilty), they instinctively grab the phone, dial whine-one-one, and beg the PC Police to send a car to fight their fights for them instead of thinking and explaining what the crime is. To them, it’s not about sympathy or morality, it’s about blind obedience to one-sided rules that maintain a bad status quo.

“Can you imagine the uproar that would occur if SNL made a parody, ‘Muhammad Unleashed?’ People at NBC would be losing their jobs.

Given that this was one of SNL’s funnier skits, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they did more Tarantino send-ups. How about “Djbudda unsat?” “Hubbard unaudited.” IIRC, Dave Chapelle also made fun of Pulp Fiction in one of his earlier skits with ‘Samuel Jackson Beer.”

Tarantino’s over-the-top style is really ripe for parody, and could likely serve as material for many more jokes.

Actually, if SNL did a Mohommed skit, they wouldn’t be losing their jobs,and no one would get fired. However, I expect there would be death threats, violence, and the occasional riot, probably in other parts of the world.

What self-respecting film critic would reference, however obliquely, Steve Martin’s Cheaper by the Dozen? And all the fundies who are jointly and separately shitting their pants about this are missing the point: the comedy works precisely because the “movie” is ahistorical (or at least, perverts the commonly held story).

Can you imagine the uproar that would occur if SNL made a parody, ‘Muhammad Unleashed?’

Aside from all the other problems with their complaint, they simply don’t understand why mocking those in a position of power is inherently different from mocking the less powerful. This applies not just to religion, but of course to racial groups and gender groups. As a someone who has won the privilege lottery, no amount of someone calling me “cracker” will materially affect my status. People tend to make fun of Christians because they are in the majority, they are what we are most familiar with, and they are also (in the US) they are the most powerful.

The parody then re-enacts a number of Tarantino’s scenes, only with “Jesus,” “St. Peter” and other biblical characters shooting, beating and slicing their victims, all while sprays of blood splatter the screen.

A few years ago there was an irreverent Australian skit comedy TV show called the Ronnie Johns Half Hour (unrelated to the Louisiana politician). They did a skit showing a crucified Jesus hearing his mobile phone ring and being unable to get it out of his pocket due to his arms being nailed to the cross. Cue reams of outrage from Christians (none of whom had watched it, but they were told about it later). The show read out some of the responses the next week, including one that said “you wouldn’t do stuff like that about Mohammad!”. So then they did the entire skit again, but with Mohammad nailed to a cross unable to get to his phone.

I’ve noticed that a lot Christian wingnuts seem to envy the Muslim fanatics who bomb and kill over such “insults” to their religion, or at least envy the fact that such violence often prevents people from daring to blaspheme their gods.

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve had a good old-fashioned witch burning. They have a lot of pent up frustration.

Funny, I don’t recall seeing them having this same hissy fit a couple of years ago when the stop-motion satire show “Robot Chicken” did virtually the same thing with their “Kill Bunny” segment.

It was more of a straight-up “Kill Bill” parody with Jesus dressed in Uma Thurman’s yellow jumpsuit, slaughtering Orthodox Jewish ninjas by the dozen, being trained by George Burns’ God, healing Darryl Hannah’s eye — and then *whack* with the sword….